21. Close Encounters of the Third Kind Secured His Success
Often, artists who have major success at the beginning of their careers have a hard time recreating that original success with later productions. Spielberg was an exception, as his next film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, as well as two Oscars. He both wrote and directed the film, which was inspired in part by his earlier amateur production, Firelight.